65 C10 cab salvage

[czny]

Found a better 66 cab for my 65 C10 at the local PAP, but their paperwork comes back as mismatched VINs. Checked the cab & frame VINs & they do match. They tell me I can cut up the cab for what I need but not take the whole cab.

Could I simply drill 4 pilot holes around the VIN tag at the d/s door header, cut out the VIN tag & hand them the piece to, ahem, "send to California DMV"?

My Q is: what percentage of the cab is allowed to be removed in this case?

Thanks!

[czny]

OK, did a search here & found this:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...=536025&page=3

Still didn't answer Q of what percentage of the cab can be salvaged before some CHP or DMV employee gets involved. At least to my satisfaction.

[Clyde65]

I would think you could find a cab in Cali that is better shape and not a DMV nightmare for you. Keep looking.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Shorty Cox]

Am I messing something here? Over the years, I have read several threads regarding this topic. My '64 C10 is now 48years old. No one has ever inspected it to verify that the VIN numbers all match. Additionally, what happens if they don't match? Do I get fined? Do "they" confiscate the truck? What is the penalty?

My cab needs rebuilt or replaced. When I find a different one, my plan is to swap it out.

I guess it would be different if one was building a truck and that truck is not currently taged and titled. In this case, someone from the DMV my verify that all VIN numbers match.

Just wondering

Shorty

[chevyrestoguy]

czny-
I sent you a PM regarding a cab that's for sale not too far from you.

[themouth1]

Originally Posted by Shorty Cox

Am I messing something here? Over the years, I have read several threads regarding this topic. My '64 C10 is now 48years old. No one has ever inspected it to verify that the VIN numbers all match. Additionally, what happens if they don't match? Do I get fined? Do "they" confiscate the truck? What is the penalty?

My cab needs rebuilt or replaced. When I find a different one, my plan is to swap it out.

I guess it would be different if one was building a truck and that truck is not currently taged and titled. In this case, someone from the DMV my verify that all VIN numbers match.

Just wondering

Shorty

California is a different planet...

[Clyde65]

If the truck is inspected and the VIN doesn't match, they will run the VINs and if you don't have title to both, they will confiscate the vehicle and possibly put you in jail for auto theft.
Posted via Mobile Device

[czny]

I'm attempting to do this cab change in such a way that I end up with the correct matching VIN on the cab - the same VIN as my original frame. There is no description of what percentage of the VIN'ed cab has to remain attached to the VIN plate in Calif salvage rules & regulations.
This C10 has been registered to me since 1991, when I had to do a lost title search to register it in the first place. It had been abandoned in a horse corral in Chino. It is no cherry.

[powerdriver 1958]

Do it right and contact the DMV about what you are doing ,. Swapping the tags on your own can lead to huge headaches

[Shorty Cox]

I guess my next questions are:

In California, I assume one re-news their license plate once per year like most states requir. Do the DMV employees check/inspect each vehicle to verify the numbers match before a tag re-newal is issued? That would be very time consuming and labor intensive. I can't see a government employee working that hard!!!! Plus, I can't see the voters agreeing to that.

If not, on what occasion would "big-brother" ever learn the cab number does not match the frame number?

I just see this as a non-issue. Even the Government understands $%!& happens and parts have to be replaced. No one, and I mean NO ONE from the Government, is every going to crawl under the vehicle to verify the frame and cab vin match. Unless, you are using that vehicle for a shady activity that would give them cause. They have bigger fish to fry.

No, I can't see the govenment conficating a 1964 C10. What would they do with it. They currently have several wore-out vehicles they can't give away at auction.

Yes, I can see the government "fining" one if they got caught with non-matching numbers. Revenue is what the Government is all about.

I guess what I'm trying to say is. Many times Mankind creates stumbling blocks for himself that are not really there. If you keep your mouth shut, "they" will never know.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be a smart@$$ or get into a &!$$ing contest here. I just see it as a non-issue. Enjoy the hobby and keep the trucks running at all cost.

Shorty

[yelmer]

do you have the original tag on the old cab that matches the frame?

[czny]

The salvage yard agreed with them keeping enough of the cab to retain both the cab VIN plate & the frame VIN together when it comes time for them to crush the vehicle - the vehicle they have paperwork for there at the salvage yard. So, by cutting around the VIN plate, handing them that piece to crush with the rest of the truck, they feel DMV will be satisfied. I wouldn't be removing the VIN plate from the premises & its still in their possession.

No cutting of rosette rivets & no removal of the VIN plate from their hands.

Just have to be meticulous about welding my frame VIN matching original VIN plate section into the donor cab. Grind & sand the welds smooth.

Just 3 weeks ago the CHP set up a roadside inspection up the street from me.
Didn't get waved over at all. Even if I had been all my paperwork is in order.

However, today I noticed the cab firewall had somehow been damaged - "someone"(Mr. No Se) had rammed a pipe into the firewall. So ended that deal.

Arrrgh!
So the search continues.......